We’re all a tad anxious about how the world will look when the pandemic is over. With many of us confined to our homes, our daily structure has been messed with. Maybe we’re floundering a bit? Maybe we’re just fine, but and hemmed in? Maybe we need something to aim for? One way to take control of the situation is to set a goal for yourself. Something that you want to get to when this is all over. Or something that you might be able…Continue Reading “How to turn lockdown into your own goal-setting, result-attaining powerhouse.”
I was privileged to be the live sketchnote artist/visual facilitator during two sessions of the Vancouver-based TED2016. I was located in the amazing ideation space, the DELOITTE GREENHOUSE, in Woodmead. The speakers were all streamed to a video projector in the venue. And my sketchnotes were displayed in real time on a screen beside the TED talks. One lovely piece of gear at the venue was a wireless transmitter from my computer to the projector. This meant I didn’t need any cables. It was seamless,…Continue Reading “Live Sketchnoting of TED2016 (via the TEDxJOHANNESBURG live stream at the Deloitte Greenhouse in Woodmead, Johannesburg)”
This is a complete how-to guide for starting out in visual facilitation. It’s aimed at youth, but it’s good for everyone. Here’s the link to the PDF: http://www.joonmeedia.ee/graphic_express/14-10-03/graphic_express_11-5_mb_max.pdf. And the website is: https://www.salto-youth.net/rc/euromed/. This amazing resource was shared on Facebook by Mark E Taylor.
One of the online Visual Facilitation groups I belong to has a thread asking for tips for beginners to the field of sketchnoting. So I prepared a quick tutorial on how to make a caricature without needing hefty art skills. The key to good visual communication is that it must be recognisable to the viewer. Start by forgetting about perfection. In this example, there are three people having a panel discussion. Draw three vague blobs that sort of look like upright humans… Otherwise known as…Continue Reading “The Art of the Art-Free Caricature”
At the end of February, I was privileged to attend the Design Indaba Conference 2014 in Cape Town. I was there courtesy of social media agency, CEREBRA, for ABSA. I was located in the satellite venue, where I sat at the back of the room, along with the audio technician. This made it easy for me to plug my tablet pc into a power supply. Here are the eight talks I covered. The slide show is loaded at a web-friendly resolution of 1200 x 900….Continue Reading “Eight Design Indaba Conference 2014 Talks — Sketchnotes by Roy Blumenthal”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bCHq1OvGR4 Brandy Agerbeck delivers a 16-minute TedX talk about techniques you can use right now to better shape your thinking.
Many people ask me whether or not visual facilitation is distracting to delegates. The short answer is a loud and emphatic, ‘NO!!!’ The long answer is probably best addressed by Tom Wujec from Autodesk, delivering a TEDTalk in February 2009: In a nutshell, he shows us how information entering the eye is processed ACTIVELY by the Primary Visual Cortex. This first port of call for light tells the brain simple things about geometry. But it ALSO coordinates information with around 30 or so OTHER parts of…Continue Reading “What’s happening in the brain when you watch a Visual Facilitation? Tom Wujec gives us the answer.”
A friend has been conversing with me in email about the practicalities of graphic facilitation. One of his questions was this: ‘Does the digital aspect enhance the visual facilitator’s creativity?’ I suspect this answer will vary between different practitioners. I’ll dodge and enhance the question by changing its terms of reference… Digital Works For Me… AND For My Clients For me, it would be almost inconceivable working non-digitally. I’ve done it. And the results were good. But my experience of the process was not so…Continue Reading “The Role of Creativity in Visual Facilitation, and Whether Doing It Digitally Makes It More Creative”
A friend of mine recently asked me whether a tablet pc enhances the visual facilitation/graphic facilitation experience for delegates. There are two ways of doing visual facilitation… digitally (on a tablet pc, or using a Wacom tablet), or analog (using paper and pen). I work almost exclusively on my tablet pc, and I have many reasons for doing so. These are some of the factors I’ve found that make the digital experience better for the delegates and for my clients… 1. It’s projected big. As…Continue Reading “Is Visual Facilitation enhanced by using digital tools?”
Graeme Sacks (@AfricanABC) popped into Mugg & Bean in Killarney. He took this pic of me demonstrating ArtRage to an interested-party. I’ve been uploading pics I made live on-air this morning at eNEWS CHANNEL. They had a special to celebrate 100 Days To The World Cup, and I was invited to do on-the-spot visual facilitation of the event. These are the pics I made: